Chapter Six: Evolution (Part One)

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The dark, oppressive night sky was shrouded by a heavy cloud that covered the lofty full moon, making the darkness seem even more impenetrable, as if a suffocating weight pressed down upon the world.

“Who’s there? Come out!” A low, commanding voice accompanied by soft footsteps cut through the silence.

Hidden deep within the thicket, Guan Qian crouched low, his body held perfectly still.

This was a scenic area open to visitors, the ideal vantage point from which to observe any activity around the Sacred Virtue Palace. Since it was now deep into the night, not a soul was in sight, and the surroundings were utterly still.

“Meow—” Suddenly, a stray cat darted out from the underbrush, streaking away into the distance.

Ahead, two shadowy figures tensed, clutching their daggers defensively. The sudden movement of the cat had truly startled their taut nerves.

“No one’s there!”

The two shadows quickly and nimbly approached the source of the sound, parting the shrubs at the forest’s edge. After exchanging glances, they spoke in low voices.

Vigilant, they scanned their surroundings. Only after a long while, when all remained quiet, did they sheath their daggers at their waists and swiftly set off toward the Sacred Virtue Palace, which lay a kilometer away, nestled within a belt of greenery.

Encircled by verdant landscaping, the Sacred Virtue Palace appeared all the more transcendent and sacred under the pitch-black night. Searchlights dotted the area within a hundred meters of the palace, their beams ever-watchful.

Randomized surveillance and light sensors ensured the palace was protected so tightly that not even a breath could slip through.

Meanwhile, Guan Qian had already shifted position, concealing himself anew as he raised his military-grade night vision binoculars to observe the palace’s perimeter. He had, of course, already tracked every move of the two shadowy intruders.

Now, within a hundred meters of the Sacred Virtue Palace, the two shadows crept closer, moving with practiced stealth—clearly seasoned thieves. Yet, just as Guan Qian expected them to approach the palace itself and steal the crystal skull within, the two abruptly halted.

They hid themselves in the greenery, as if awaiting something.

Sure enough, moments later, a middle-aged man in uniform, carrying a case, quietly slipped out through an emergency exit of the palace. Years of coming and going had made him intimately familiar with every detail of the palace’s grounds.

Effortlessly evading cameras and laser sensors, he cautiously scanned the area before heading straight for the two shadows’ hiding spot.

It was clear this was a clandestine deal.

Someone on the inside had been bought! And judging by how easily he handled the crystal skull for the exchange, his rank within the palace must not be low.

Suppressing a surge of anger, Guan Qian reached for his phone to call the police—when a sudden scene in his binoculars made him furrow his brows once again.

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In an inconspicuous corner glimpsed through the night vision, another group had appeared.

One, two, three, four, five!

My God, there were five more people hidden off to another side. What was going on? Could they not be part of the same gang? The answer was obvious: this was a second team.

As the two shadows received the crystal skull, the five mysterious figures sprang into action.

They followed the first pair at a measured distance, shadowing them out of the range of the palace’s surveillance. The two thieves ahead, realizing they were being tailed, quickened their pace, their minds racing.

The feeling of being followed was unnerving—especially when it was thieves trailing thieves.

Who had betrayed them? Only the higher-ups and the insider at the palace knew about this secret deal. There was no way a third party could have learned the exact time and place.

Who? Which damned traitor sold out the organization?

Their thoughts converged quickly on a single suspect: the man inside the Sacred Virtue Palace.

Damn it, the bastard was trying to double-cross them! The organization had paid a fortune for this deal, only to be swindled by a turncoat.

The two shadows dodged quickly toward Guan Qian’s direction as the night vision slowly zoomed in on their tense figures, the air thick with suspense.

As the five mysterious pursuers drew closer, the two thieves suddenly darted apart in opposite directions. In the pitch-black night, it was impossible to tell which one now carried the crystal skull.

The five pursuers split up without hesitation, two and three, to track each thief.

Watching it all unfold, Guan Qian put down his binoculars, a confident smirk curving his lips as he quietly moved in another direction.

In a hidden, shadowed corner, he crouched and retrieved a small black case.

The case was square and neat, its lid secured with a delicate little lock, and a small key dangled from the handle—clearly the key to the box.

Predator and prey, and a third party waiting in the wings—no one had expected Guan Qian to outwit the thieves and claim the crystal skull so easily.

But just as Guan Qian was secretly exulting, the little black case began to tremble faintly. An agonizing pain shot through his mind, as if he had been stung by a venomous scorpion, nearly causing him to faint.

Guan Qian gasped for breath, his blurred vision doubling the image of the black case before him. Cold sweat poured down his back as a wave of weakness swept over him.

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“There’s someone over there!” Three of the mysterious figures, having doubled back, clearly had already dealt with one of the thieves.

“Wait—looks like that’s the black case!” One of them spotted the box near Guan Qian, his tone uncertain.

“Let’s go check it out!” With that, the three hurried over to where Guan Qian lay in a semi-conscious state.

“Damn it, we’ve been played!” One of the men snatched up the box, examining it with a surge of excitement laced with curses.

Who would have thought the two thieves would ditch the case here and flee empty-handed? They had managed to take out one of them and, retracing their steps, had stumbled on this unexpected scene.

But who was this dazed man on the ground? The three exchanged frowns.

“Let’s go! Take him with us—we’ll catch up with the others!” The man with the black case rushed off in the direction the first group had fled, the other two dragging Guan Qian along.

“This way—follow the blood trail!” The leader kept his eyes on the faint traces of blood, pursuing relentlessly.

But after a long chase, they discovered the bodies of two of their own companions in a deserted, remote area, the thief nowhere to be found.

“Damn it! They were ambushed!” One of the men swore furiously at the sight.

“Forget it. We have what we came for. The dead are dead,” the one with the black case said indifferently, his attention fixed solely on the box.

“What about him?” another asked, gesturing at the barely conscious Guan Qian.

“Kill him,” came the cold, decisive reply, every syllable dripping with calculation and cruelty.

Lost in a haze, Guan Qian had no idea he was at their mercy, his life hanging by a thread.

A searing pain raged in his head, threatening to burst his skull, burning and gnawing at his thoughts. Chaotic fragments flashed through his mind, as if bloody claws were tearing memories forcefully from him. The pain and numbness left him utterly powerless, able only to watch as terror closed in.

Under the moonlight, a gleaming dagger shone with a bloody glint, its razor-sharp edge exuding the chill of death itself.

As the blade descended, about to claim his life, something happened: the three men recoiled in horror from Guan Qian, their eyes bulging in disbelief, faces frozen with terror as if they had seen a ghost.